Help Prevent More Unnecessary Tragedies by Contacting Your Senator About S.1284 and S.689 Today

The tragedy at the Navy Yard is yet another wake-up call to both citizens and lawmakers that the United States needs legislative reform.

The Navy Yard, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Fort Hood, Tucson, Virginia Tech, Columbine, and several other unnecessary mass murders all had one strong, undeniable detail in common- mental health disorders.

Placing the blame on firearms regulations will not stop mentally ill persons from attacking and hurting others. The root of the problem is the mentally ill, not the tool the person chose for their attack. The real problem lies with sick persons who were not treated for mental illnesses adequately.

The time has come to raise awareness of mental health disorders in the public square and provide more resources to help ill persons. All individuals need to learn and identify the mentally ill among them, and help the sick and afflicted get help. Schools need to be given more resources to identify and serve mentally ill students.

The stigma of mental awareness needs to be lifted so that the ill will not be afraid to admit their sickness and reach out for help.

I urge you to support the mental health funding levels in the Senate FY2014 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Bill (S.1284) and to cosponsor and enact the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 689).

There has been a cut in state funding for mental health services and supports of nearly $5 billion over the last three years.  The Senate funding bill includes a roughly $107 million increase for much-needed, critical mental health services at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and would fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at FY2012 levels. 

S.1284 makes important strides in investing in "upstream services" such as suicide prevention, consumer programs, Project AWARE, etc. to begin to address the treatment chasm (80 percent of children and 66 percent of adults that need treatment do not receive it).

In the wake of the the Navy Yard shooting, the Sandy Hook tragedy, Aurora, and all of the other national crises, bi-partisan legislation was introduced by Sens. Tom Harkin and Lamar Alexander to assist states and local communities in addressing mental health needs ("upstream" services). 

The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 689) was passed by an overwhelming vote of 95-2 in April as an amendment to a legislative vehicle that has since been pulled from the Senate calendar.
 
I urge you to support the funding levels in the Senate FY2014 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Bill (S.1284) in any future spending package or Continuing Resolution and to urge the Senate to have the House consider the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 689). These important bills will help address the mental health and addiction needs in our state and communities.

You can show your support for this bill by contacting your Senator (click here to find your senator and her/his email address), and sending her/him the text in bold above.

Share this message on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. Help spread the word, and encourage everyone to not just "like" the post, but SEND THE MESSAGE TO THE SENATE TO SUPPORT SENATE FY2014 LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND EDUCATION AND APPROPRIATIONS BILL (S.1284) AND THE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2013 (S.689)!

You can learn more about this legislation on the Mental Health America website. 

Sebelius is right not to take immediate action in lung transplant case.

Making headlines this week is the story of a young girl who needs a lung transplant as soon as possible. But the realities of the situation are thus- child-size lungs do not become available very often. And the transplant list rules and regulations do not get her access to adult lungs.
The family (rightfully) took to the media to help their daughter out. And they petitioned the Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, to override the rules, and direct the transplant organization, UNOS, to give their daughter lungs.
A lot of right-wing types are calling Sebelius a "one-woman death panel" for her choice to not jump and do.
The case has now gone to U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson who wrote in a temporary restraining order that by refusing to set aside the existing rule for children, Sebelius had failed “to protect the very few children nationally who are subject to it.” He added that the evidence showed that the rule “discriminates against children and serves no purpose, is arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion.” Baylson, a George W. Bush appointee, scheduled a hearing for June 14.
Sebelius now has 10 days to either issue a directive, or not do anything.
Here is why she would be right not to do anything-
(and shame on anyone who considers themselves a defender of the Constitution for not seeing it this way)
First and foremost, precedent. We cannot have a cabinet secretary determining who lives and dies. If she says yes in this scenario, what happens when another family needs a transplant next week? An appointed cabinet secretary is an incredibly political position.  She (and/or any of her successors) does everyone justice by not allowing herself to become a "death panel." Her job is of such a highly political nature that it is only a matter of time, nay minutes, until campaign favors, bribes, etc. become a question in transplants.
I think it goes without saying that absolutely nobody wants to see transplants become a political topic!
Transplants, above all other issues, should remain an incredibly fair, honest, and transparent decision. And that is absolutely why it was right to make this situation go through a judge.
I know many people cannot help but feel compassion and want to override "the system" to help out a dying girl. No one can be blamed for that.
But right now this little girl does have some more time. She needs the lungs, but she has a few more weeks. And that is why it is right to let this play out in courts. Judges have the right to feel compassion, recognize a bad law, and make the appropriate change so that it sets precedent that can help others.
(It also protects any medical professional who may help the girl if she gets the lungs. Otherwise, a directive from a political authority may or may not open up the door to a lawsuit from a different family who needed the lungs, but didn't get them because they went to the girl. That lawsuit could easily involve the doctors.)
Let this play out in the courts so that the right thing can be done not just for the little girl, but for all transplant patients down the road. No one is arguing that it is a bad regulation that needs to be fixed. So let's let it get fixed the proper way, and not in a way that could create further problems down the road.